few-  ?*.+wc.-rt.  • 

At  rw2  a  ^  - - — 

Striking  Contrasts  in 
South  Africa 


AMERICAN  BOARD  OF  COMMISSIONERS 
FOR  FOREIGN  MISSIONS,  Boston,  Mass. 


Z\2- 


dhttrnfturtiiry  Not? 

In  this  sketch  Secretary  Patton  summarizes 
the  main  impressions  of  a  remarkable  tour  of 
inspection  through  the  South  African  Mission 
of  the  American  Board.  It  is  a  question  which 
is  more  vivid,  the  text  or  the  pictures.  Taken 
together  they  furnish  a  demonstration  of  what 
Christianity  has  wrought  in  a  dark  and  degraded 
land  within  seventy-five  years. 

The  South  African  Mission  has  just  cele¬ 
brated  its  Diamond  Jubilee.  We  are  here 
shown  the  abundant  reasons  for  rejoicing  —  the 
marvelous  accomplishment  and  the  good  hope 
of  yet  swifter  advance  in  the  years  ahead. 

No  contributor  to  foreign  missions  can  read 
these  pages  without  realizing  more  keenly  yet 
the  effectiveness  of  the  work  to  which  he  is 
giving  his  money.  And  it  would  seem  that  one 
who  claims  to  have  no  interest  in  foreign  mis¬ 
sions  can  hardly  face  the  evidence  here  pre¬ 
sented  without  being  convinced  by  it  and  with¬ 
out  wishing  to  have  a  hand  henceforth  in  the 
redeeming  of  this  Zulu  race.  W.  E.  S. 


Scenes  in  the  Dark  Continent,  showing  the  remarkable 
uplift  of  the  people  from  the  lowest  barbarism  by 
means  of  Christian  churches  and  schools 

Illustrated  by  Original  Photographs 

BY 

CORNELIUS  H.  PATTON 

Home  Secretary  of  the  American  Board 


When  David  Livingstone  went  from  Central  Africa 
to  Cape  Colony  to  marry  Mary  Moffatt,  daughter  of  the 
famous  missionary,  he  was  six  months  trekking  back  to 
the  Zambesi  River.  The  traveler  can  make  the  same  jour¬ 
ney  now  on  the  Zambesi  Express  in  four  days;  and  instead 
of  encountering  all  sorts  of  perils  and  hardships,  as  did 
Livingstone  and  his  bride,  he  can  recline  in  a  sumptuous 
compartment,  have  excellent  meals  served  in  a  dining 
car,  enjoy  a  good  bed  at  night,  refresh  himself  with  a 
shower  bath  in  the  morning,  and  in  general  take  solid 
comfort  along  every  mile  of  the  way.  I  wonder  how 
many  of  the  hundreds  of  tourists  who  take  this  “train 
de  luxe”  for  the  purpose  of  visiting  the  Victoria  Falls 
stop  to  think  of  the  missionary  who  discovered  the  won¬ 
derful  cataract  and  of  his  weary  journey  by  ox  wagon 
or  by  carriers  through  the  vast  stretches  of  the  African 
wilderness.  I  wonder  how  many  have  ever  counted  the 

1 


cost,  in  human  life  and  self-sacrificing  endeavor,  of  plant¬ 
ing  civilization  in  these  parts.  Livingstone,  who  has  writ¬ 
ten  his  name  across  this  continent,  is  but  the  foremost  rep¬ 
resentative  of  a  noble  company  of  men  and  women  who 
have  given  Africa  to  the  world  and  are  to-day  leading 
Africa’s  dusky  millions  into  the  kingdom  of  Christ. 
Contrasts  in  The  railroads  first  struck  my  attention 
Transportation,  upon  landing  in  South  Africa,  intent 
upon  making  a  careful  investigation  of  the  work  of  mis¬ 
sions  in  the  region  below  the  Great  Zambesi.  It  is  amaz¬ 
ing  what  one  can  see  in  a  few  months  by  availing  him¬ 
self  of  the  government  system  of  railroads.  Coming 
down  the  east  coast  I  was  struck  by  the  fact  that  eight 
railways  penetrate  the  interior  between  Suez  and  Cape 
Town.  Had  I  been  asked  about  this  before  taking  the 
journey  I  might  have  counted  the  three  roads  running 
inward  from  Mombasa,  Beira,  and  Durban.  But  to  these 
we  must  add  five  others!  When  the  Cape  to  Cairo  road 
is  completed  it  will  resemble  the  backbone  of  a  fish,  with 
branching  ribs  on  either  side.  East  and  west  will  run 
many  side  lines  tapping  the  coast  whenever  there  is  a 
harbor  or  a  good  river  connection.  Then  the  continent 
may  be  said  to  be  truly  opened. 

The  missionaries  have  been  quick  to  avail  themselves 
of  the  mighty  highways  already  constructed,  and  as  a 
result  of  the  improved  transportation  facilities  the  work 
has  been  extended  into  regions  which  formerly  could 
not  be  reached  or  could  be  worked  only  at  a  great  dis¬ 
advantage.  By  the  passing  of  the  trek-wagon,  with  its 
line  of  lumbering  oxen,  “  outspanning”  every  two  hours, 

2 


Old-fashioned  Trek-wagon  Crossing  a  River 


The  Zambesi  Express 

Four  days  from  Cape  Town  to  Victoria  Falls 

3 


and  making  about  fifteen  miles  a  day,  the  missionary  avails 
himself  of  the  time  gained  in  actual  work  among  the 
natives.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  the  railroad  has  doubled 
his  efficiency. 

Industrial  The  railroads  are  but  one  factor  in  a  mighty 
Contrasts,  industrial  change  which  has  come  over  the 
face  of  South  Africa.  As  is  bound  to  be  the  case  where 
a  land  inhabited  by  savages  is  taken  possession  of  and 
developed  by  civilized  nations,  every  change  is  a  revo¬ 
lution.  To  the  native  African  the  transformation  is 
cataclysmic.  Only  with  the  most  sympathetic  and  wisely 
directed  assistance  can  he  possibly  adjust  himself  to  the 
industrial  revolution  which  he  sees  going  on  all  about 
him.  For  untold  ages  he  has  been  a  child  of  nature, 
living  in  a  bowl-shaped  wicker  hut,  wearing  only  a  bunch 
of  monkey  skins  or  a  leather  apron  about  his  loins,  eat¬ 
ing  the  fruit  of  the  land,  hunting  the  abundant  game  with 
his  unerring  assagais,  or  raising  a  few  cattle  on  his  native 
hills,  content  to  squat  and  smoke  and  drink  beer,  un¬ 
disturbed  and  uninspired  by  the  fierce  competition 
of  the  workaday  world  beyond  his  shores.  Now  that 
world  is  upon  him  with  a  rush.  With  its  railroads, 
steamboats,  electric  trains,  plantations,  factories,  mines, 
laws,  taxes,  magistrates,  police,  armies,  maxim  guns, 
gin  shops  and  prisons,  civilization  has  descended  upon 
the  poor  African  like  an  avalanche.  Is  it  any  wonder 
that  he  sits  around  his  beer  pots  half  dazed  and  half 
crazed  by  the  insistent  demand  of  the  white  man  that  he 
adjust  himself  to  the  changed  condition!  To  make  mat- 

4 


ters  worse  epidemics  have  swept  away  his  wealth  in  his 
cattle.  First  the  rinderpest  and  then  the  tick  fever 
have  robbed  the  South  African  native  of  his  all.  With 
the  loss  of  his  cattle  he  has  lost  his  chief  articles  of  diet, 
milk  and  meat;  he  has,  lost  the  means  of  plowing  his 
field,  and  he  has  lost  means  of  transportation  for  his 
crops.  Was  ever  a  primitive  people  in  a  more  sorry 
plight?  Was  there  ever  a  people  in  whose  case  it  was  more 
brutal  and  cowardly  to  be  scornful  and  hard  and  impa¬ 
tient,  to  call  them  “lazy  niggers,”  “good-for-nothing  Ka¬ 
firs”?  If  ever  there  was  a  chance  for  Christian  civiliza¬ 
tion  with  its  kindliness,  its  patience,  its  sympathy,  and 
its  wisdom  it  is  right  now  in  South  Africa. 

But  there  is  a  good  side  to  all  this  overturn.  For  one 
thing,  the  industrial  revolution  has  compelled  the  negro 
to  work.  The  young  men  have  been  forced  to  leave 
the  kraals  and  seek  work  in  the  cities,  especially  in  Kim¬ 
berly,  Johannesburg,  and  Durban.  By  the  hundreds  of 
thousands  they  are  flocking  to  the  mines  and  other  places 
where  labor  is  in  demand.  In  the  Johannesburg  region 
—  the  “Rand”  as  they  call  the  great  gold  mining  section 
of  the  Transvaal  —  300,000  natives  are  employed  at  the 
present  time. 

This  plunge  into  the  very  maelstrom  of  modern  civi¬ 
lization  is  full  of  peril  to  the  unsophisticated  African. 
He  is  quicker  to  learn  the  vices  than  the  virtues  of  our 
city  ways.  The  opportunity  for  missionary  work  is  ap¬ 
parent,  and  the  enterprising  workers  we  send  out  from 
America  have  been  quick  to  take  advantage  of  the  change. 

5 


The  Old  Way  of  Preaching 

To  a  few  people  in  a  Kraal;  this  way  is  still  followed  in  out -reaching  tours  and 
away  from  the  Chrbtian  communities. 


In  the  old  days  the  missionary  or  the  native  preacher 
was  obliged  to  seek  the  people  in  their  villages,  which 
rarely  contain  more  than  a  dozen  huts.  Arriving  at  the 
village  or  kraal,  likely  as  not  he  would  find  the  men  away 
on  a  hunt  or  engaged  in  a  beer  drink,  while  the  women 
would  be  working  in  the  mealie  fields.  Audiences  were 
few  and  small  and  very  inattentive.  Now  the  missionaries 
find  the  natives  coming  to  them  in  vast  numbers.  They 
can  be  preached  to  by  the  thousand  any  Sunday  in  the 
compounds  which  surround  the  mines  in  the  Rand  or  in 
the  native  barracks  in  Durban. 

And  these  strapping  young  natives  listen  with  reverent 
attention.  The  young  Zulu  is  lonely  in  the  great  city; 
he  meets  no  white  man  who  can  speak  to  him  in  his 
own  tongue  except  the  missionary,  and  he  knows  the 
missionary  is  his  friend.  In  company  with  Mr.  Good- 
enough,  our  American  Board  representative  at  Johannes¬ 
burg,  and  Mr.  Norton,  his  assistant,  I  preached  to  eager 
throngs  of  natives  —  all  men  —  in  three  different  groups, 
and  never  have  I  had  better  attention;  never  did  preach¬ 
ing  seem  to  pay  so  well.  Every  Sunday  forty  native 
preachers  go  through  the  different  sections  of  Johannes¬ 
burg  under  the  missionary’s  direction  carrying  the  sav¬ 
ing  word  to  thousands  of  their  fellows.  At  Durban  our 
missionary,  Mr.  Bridgman,  took  me  to  seven  different 
native  services,  two  of  them  in  churches  but  the  others 
in  all  sorts  of  out-of-the-way  places.  It  was  one  of  the 
most  rewarding  days  of  my  life.  A  notable  feature  of 
this  city  work  is  that  the  Zulu  young  men,  after  working 

7 


six  months  or  a  year,  usually  return  to  their  homes.  In 
this  way  the  converts  are  spreading  the  good  seed  of  the 
kingsom  in  every  direction. 

Individual  and  But  I  am  sure  it  is  contrasts  in  the 

Social  Contrasts,  character  and  status  of  the  people 
that  American  Board  friends  will  want  to  hear  most 

about.  And  here  I  must  restrain 
myself  for  fear  my  enthusiasm  may 
produce  incredulity.  The  contrasts 
in  social  status  between  the  heathen 
and  the  Christian  natives  are  simply 
amazing.  And  they  meet  you  on 
every  side;  they  stare  at  you  along 
every  highway.  The  evidences  of 
the  uplift  of  the  natives  by  means 
of  Christian  schools  and  churches 
are  so  numerous  and  conspicuous 
that  he  who  runs  may  read.  I  ven¬ 
ture  to  say  no  open-minded  tourist 
can  journey  for  one  hour  along  any 
road  in  the  interior  of  Natal  with¬ 
out  being  convinced  of  the  vast 
change  which  has  come  over  the  Christianized  section 
of  the  population. 

Here  is  a  husky  Zulu  coming  up  the  hill.  He  is  clad 
mostly  in  his  rich  chocolate-colored  skin;  but  his  skin 
is  set  off  by  white  bands  of  beads  about  his  neck,  by 
plumes  of  horsehair  on  his  arms  and  legs,  and  by  his 
shield  of  black  cowhide  ornamented  with  white  stripes. 

8 


In  his  hands  are  knobkerrie  and  assagais,  and  as  for  cloth¬ 
ing  he  is  content  with  a  cluster 
of  monkey  tails  dangling  about  his 
loins.  You  can  see  that  man  any¬ 
where  in  Natal  or  Zululand.  He 
is  all  over  the  landscape;  and  a 
mighty  picturesque  object  he  is. 

But  he  is  a  heathen  of  the  heathen. 

He  may  have  three  wives;  more 
likely  he  has  seven;  if  you  press 
him  and  he  owns  up  to  eighteen 
you  need  not  be  surprised.  And 
the  way  he  treats  those  wives! 

Well,  here  come  a  bunch  of 
heathen  women;  let  us  take  a  look 
at  them!  I  will  not  say  how  far 
off  you  can  detect  them  by  another 
sense;  that  depends  upon  which 
wTay  the  wind  is  blowing;  it  is 
wrell  to  hint  at  the  fact,  for  the 
filth  of  the  kraal  people  is  one  of 
the  dreadful  things  that  have  to 
be  overcome.  Look  at  these 
women.  If  they  are  unmarried 
they  will  draw  out  your  admiration  by  their  robust 
figures  and  their  splendid  carriage.  You  wall  be  dis¬ 
gusted  wdth  the  hair  hanging  down  to  the  nose  in  strings 
slimy  with  red  clay  and  oil;  but  you  cannot  deny  a 
certain  air  of  distinction  which  their  simple  garb  af¬ 
fords,  especially  if  into  their  hair  they  have  woven  white 

9 


and  red  beads  and  if  they  have  well-designed  bead- 
work  about  neck  and  waist.  These  Zulus  are  artists  in 
their  way  and  they  never  fail  to  produce  bold,  effective 
designs.  These  young  women  may  be  wearing  nothing 
but  their  beads,  or  they  may  have  on  an  ornate  apron  or 
have  thrown  over  the  shoulders  a  blanket  filled  with  oil 
and  red  clay.  Along  any  road  and  on  any  day  you  can 
see  them  by  the  dozen  and  score.  What  they  are  in  charac¬ 
ter  I  will  not  offend  my  readers  by  describing,  but  will 
simply  say  that  virtue,  as  we  conceive  of  it,  is  unknown 
among  them.  I  doubt  if  any  women  on  the  face  of  the 
earth  grade  so  low  in  essential  morality.  As  some  one 
has  remarked,  “The  Zulus  are  not  so  much  immoral  as 
unmoral.”  They  simply  do  not  know  what  morality  is. 

If  the  women  you  meet  are  married  they  will  have 
their  hair  up  and  combed  over  a  huge  basket-work 
frame,  which  is  rather  picturesque.  But  every  mark  of 
dignity,  independence,  and  sprightliness  is  gone.  They 
are  poor  old  hags  at  middle  life.  You  can  hardly  be¬ 
lieve  they  ever  looked  like  the  vigorous  damsels  you  have 
been  passing  on  the  road.  This  is  what  marriage  means. 
This  is  what  the  home  —  no,  let  us  not  debauch  the  sa¬ 
cred  word  home  by  such  a  connection  —  this  is  what  the 
polygamous  hut  does  for  the  Zulu  woman.  She  is  a 
poor  drudge  of  a  creature,  the  mere  tool  of  her  brutal 
husband. 

But  long  before  you  have  seen  all  these  “raw  heathen” 
you  will  have  passed  groups  of  Christian  natives,  for 
they,  too,  are  everywhere  in  Natal.  There  is  no  difficulty 
in  detecting  them,  as  they  all  wear  European  clothes. 

10 


Two  Types  of  Motherhood 

The  Christian  mother  is  bringing  her  child  for  baptism 


What  the  Gospel  does  for  Women 

Two  Christian  women  and  two  heathen  women  of  Ifafa,  Natal 


11 


They  may  not  be  dressed  for  parading  down  Fifth  Avenue, 
but  for  the  most  part  they  are  neatly  clad,  and  even 

without  shoes  reveal 
the  higher  social  status 
to  which  the  gospel  has 
lifted  them.  They  seem 
to  belong  to  a  different 
world,  and  they  do.  In 
nearly  every  case  they 
can  read  and  write.  If 
you  address  them  in 
English  they  will  ordi¬ 
narily  understand.  With 
cleanliness,  education, 
and  character  have  come 
sense  of  worth  and  an  entirely  commendable  purpose  to 
get  on  in  the  world  and  to  maintain  their  rights.  The 
colonials  often  say,  “An  educated  Kafir  is  necessarily  an 
impudent  Kafir.”  I  did  not  find  it  so,  nor  do  the  mission¬ 
aries  find  it  so.  They  are  not  saints  by  a  good  deal;  and 
the  missionaries  are  the  first  to  recognize  certain  strains  of 
weakness  in  their  characters,  and  to  admit  sad  lapses  into 
sin;  but  the  man  who  refuses  to  see  the  vast  change  for 
the  good  in  the  native  Christians,  taking  them  all  in  all, 
is  either  blind  or  prejudiced. 

Contrasts  in  After  all,  the  homes  tell  the  story  better 
Home  Life,  than  anything  else.  The  home  is  the 
highest  product  of  Christianity,  and  the  work  of  the  mis¬ 
sionary  may  be  tested  at  this  point.  As  you  pass  along 
the  roads  or  wander  through  the  bypaths  of  South  Africa 

12 


you  are  struck  by  the  difference  between  the  kraals  of 
the  heathen  and  the  houses  of  the  Christians.  Many 
travelers  never  get  far  enough  off  the  railroad  to  appre¬ 
ciate  the  real  social  conditions  of  a  people  like  the  South 
Africans;  and  those  who  do  travel  in  the  country  seldom 
enter  the  kraals.  To  do  so  you  must  get  down  on  your 
hands  and  knees  and  humble  yourself  in  a  way  that  some 
people  do  not  like.  But  it  pays,  because  in  these  huts 
you  see  life  as  it  is.  If  you  will  squat  down  on  the  dirt 
floor  with  the  natives  and  not  mind  the  close  proximity 
of  goats  —  not  to  mention  smaller  inhabitants  —  or  the 
thick  and  choking  smoke  which  arises  from  the  fire  in 
the  center  of  the  floor,  you  may  be  able,  by  the  aid  of  a 
friendly  missionary,  to  draw  out  the  occupants  so  as  to 
really  know  their  manner  of  life.  Personally  I  made 
this  my  practice  wherever  I  went  in  Africa,  because  I 
wanted  to  know  my  facts  at  first  hand.  I  even  penetrated 
a  hut  filled  with  dirty  men  and  women,  some  fifty  in 
number,  engaged  in  one  of  their  beer-drinking  debauches. 

Now  I  say  that  the  man  who  passes  from  these  kraals 
to  our  native  Christian  homes  and  refuses  to  admit  the 
revolutionary  change  is  unworthy  of  argument.  Com¬ 
parisons  can  hardly  be  more  conspicuous.  From  the  one- 
room  hut  described  above,  without  cleanliness,  without 
decency,  to  the  home  of  the  Christian  with  its  several 
rooms,  its  suitable  furniture,  its  orderliness  and  good 
health  is  a  leap  upward  of  vast  social  significance.  Some 
one  has  said,  “The  first  sign  of  a  changed  heart  with  an 
African  native  is  a  changed  house.” 

Up  in  Gazaland,  where  the  American  Board  established 

13 


How  the  “Raw”  Zulu  lives  in  Natal 


The  Zulu  “  Kraal”  or  village  consists  of  a  circle  of  huts,  like  huge  beehives. 
A  single  hole  in  the  side  of  each  hut  answers  for  door, 
window,  and  chimney. 


How  the  Christian  Zulu  lives  in  Natal 

In  the  house,  in  addition  to  the  usual  furniture,  I  found  wallpaper, 
china  dishes,  and  Pears’  Soap. 


14 


its  work  twenty  years  ago,  there  are  social  transforma¬ 
tions  of  a  marvelous  kind.  Nothing  but  the  redeeming 
power  of  God  can  account  for  the  transformation  wrought 
at  a  place  like  Chikore.  Sixteen  years  ago,  when  Dr.  and 
Mrs.  Wilder  began  work,  the  people  were  as  low  down 
and  gross  as  superstition  and  sin  can  make  a  people.  The 
deviltry  of  the  witch  doctor  and  rain  maker  constituted 
the  only  religion.  Incantations,  sacrifices,  orgies  under 
the  great  Chikore  tree  on  a  hilltop  were  their  only  serv¬ 
ices.  One  Christian  man  and  his  wife  built  a  home 
among  those  people.  They  learned  the  people’s  barba¬ 
rous  language,  sought  them  out  in  their  huts,  cared  for 
their  sick,  taught  them  helpful  methods  of  agriculture, 
opened  a  little  school  for  the  children,  and  by  and  by  they 
organized  a  church.  What  is  the  result  of  it  all? 

I  spent  six  days  at  Chikore  in  order  to  study  with  some 
care  the  effect  of  the  Gospel  among  primitive  heathen.  I 
found  a  well-ordered  and  rapidly  growing  Christian  com¬ 
munity.  The  typical  heathen  kraals  were  all  about  in 
abundance,  but  in  the  midst  of  them  was  a  cluster  of 
Christian  homes  —  neat  little  square  houses,  divided  into 
rooms,  having  glass  windows,  doors  on  hinges,  tables, 
chairs,  beds,  fireplaces,  dishes,  and  books.  Best  of  all,  I 
found  a  loving  Christian  welcome  from  father,  mother, 
and  children.  I  found  a  schoolhouse  running  over  with 
bright  boys  and  girls,  classes  going  on  inside  and  outside 
at  the  same  time.  I  found  boys  being  taught  to  use 
agricultural  implements  and  carpentry  tools.  I  found 
a  lusty  young  church,  with  its  evangelists  and  deacons, 
its  Sunday  School  and  its  system  of  benevolence.  I 

15 


Ten  Chiefs  at  Chikore 

Who,  clinging  to  their  heathenism,  asserted  that  the  old  times 
were  better  than  the  present,  and  asked  to  have 
the  missionaries  taken  away. 


The  “  Beira  Boys  ”  at  Mt.  Silinda 

The  cream  of  the  Mt.  Silinda  school  and  eager  to  return  and  work  for  their 
people.  Picture  taken  when  they  called  to  ask  that  the  American 
Board  would  reopen  its  mission  at  Beira. 

16 


How  the  Heathen  live  in  Rhodesia 

A  typical  family  in  the  Ndanga  country 


How  the  Christians  live  in  Rhodesia 

This  man  built  his  house  with  his  own  hands,  making  doors  and  windows, 
and  rendering  it  white-ant-proof  by  a  unique  cellar.  He 
also  made  the  chairs  shown  in  the  picture.  The 
house  has  two  rooms  and  a  fireplace. 

17 


officiated  at  a  solemn  and  well-ordered  communion  serv¬ 
ice.  I  found  the  whole  region  lifted  up  in  intelligence, 
morality,  and  material  prospects.  In  sixteen  short  years 
the  progress  of  centuries  had  been  made  in  social  evolu¬ 
tion.  I  said,  “It  is  a  miracle,”  and  I  say  so  still.  The 
more  I  meditate  upon  it  the  more  I  am  convinced  that 
this  work  is  the  very  work  of  God. 

Historical  Attendance  upon  the  75th  anniversary  of 
Contrasts,  our  Zulu  Mission  made  it  possible  to  appre¬ 
ciate  the  contrast  between  the  beginning  of  the  work  and 
its  present  status.  When  Dr.  Adams  and  Messrs.  Grout 
and  Champion  first  brought  the  Gospel  to  Natal  they 
found  the  people  without  a  written  language  and  liv¬ 
ing  in  utter  barbarism,  under  cruel  and  licentious  chiefs. 
What  have  we  to  show  to-day?  With  6,000  church 
members,  4,000  school  children,  100  day  schools,  be¬ 
sides  three  boarding  schools,  normal  school,  theological 
seminary,  industrial  work  and  hospital,  an  impressive 
array  of  literature,  and  above  all  the  Zulu  Bible,  we  have 
a  right  to  praise  God  for  mighty  things  accomplished. 

The  total  impression  of  this  work  came  to  me  with 
great  force  one  evening  at  Amanzimtote,  beautiful  Aman- 
zimtote,  which  may  be  regarded  as  our  leading  station. 
I  was  sitting  at  sunset  on  the  veranda  of  Mr.  Ransom’s 
house,  high  up  on  the  hillside.  Far  off  on  the  horizon 
the  Indian  Ocean  shone  like  gold.  There  was  a  soft 
mist  gathering  about  the  hills.  Nature  seemed  at  perfect 
rest.  Not  a  soul  was  in  sight,  although  the  roofs  of  our 
institutions  were  visible  through  the  trees.  Then  the 
sound  of  voices  rose  from  the  valley  below;  the  girls 

18 


of  the  normal  school  were  singing  as  they  worked  in  the 
garden,  and  I  could  catch  some  of  the  words.  They  were 
singing  about  “the  ever-green  land”  and  “the  beautiful 
shore.”  Never  shall  I  forget  the  effect  of  their  melodious 
voices  coming  up  through  the  trees  and  blending  with  the 
harmony  of  that  sunset  hour.  My  eyes  wandered  to  a  spot 
down  by  the  river  where  I  knew  the  first  Christian  convert 
in  Natal  was  buried,  and  where  Dr.  Adams,  too,  was 
laid  to  rest.  He  worked  eleven  years  to  win  that  one 
convert  —  a  poor  old  blind  woman,  named  Bhulosi.  And 
thus  there  came  to  my  mind  a  vision  of  the  60,000  church 
members  of  all  Boards  among  the  Zulus  in  Natal  to-day, 
the  children,  too,  of  these  Christians  and  all  the  adherents, 
making  possibly  a  company  of  200,000  souls;  and  I  thought 
of  all  the  redeemed  from  the  Zulu  race  who,  since  Bhulosi’s 
conversion,  had  gone  to  “the  ever-green  land,”  and  had 
met  Dr.  Adams  and  his  associates  there;  and  as  these 
things  came  to  my  mind  my  heart  was  very  full. 

Words  cannot  convey  the  sense  of  God’s  presence  and 
guidance  in  this  work  which  comes  -to  a  man  under  such 
circumstances.  One  can  simply  silently  lift  his  heart 
to  God  in  praise  and  thanksgiving.  A  few  days  later 
the  missionaries  and  native  pastors  went  down  to  Bhulo¬ 
si’s  grave  and  held  a  praise  service  there;  then  passing 
to  Dr.  Adams’s  grave,  near  by,  we  sang  the  hymn  which 
he  translated  into  Zulu  and  which  the  Zulus  greatly  love, 
“From  Greenland’s  icy  mountains, 

From  India’s  coral  strands — ” 
and  when  we  came  to  the  lines, 

“Where  Afric’s  sunny  fountains 
Roll  down  their  golden  sands,” 


19 


one  man  there  at  least  concluded  that  the  results  of  the 
Board’s  work  in  Africa  abundantly  paid  for  all  the  pre¬ 
cious  treasure  in  life  and  money  which  the  people  of 
America  have  contributed  during  these  seventy-five  years. 


Praise  Service  at  Bhulosi’s  Grave 

Father  Pixley,  now  the  senior  missionary  of  the  American  Board  in 
Africa,  who  is  standing  near  the  centre  of  the  picture, 
remembers  Bhulosi.  His  missionary  life  covers 
the  entire  era  of  transformation  described 
in  this  sketch. 


20 


The  American  Board  Announces 

Three  New  Stereopticon 
Lectures 

BY  SECRETARY  CORNELIUS  H.  PATTON 

New  and  Different 

Hinduism.  The  Religion  of  333,000,000  Gods 

Buddhism.  The  Religion  of  the  Pessimists 

Mohammedanism.  Christianity’s  Greatest  Rival 

These  lectures  are  intended  to  meet  the  increasing 
interest  in  the  study  of  comparative  religion  and  to  do 
it  in  a  popular  way.  Instead  of  requiring  people  to 
read  voluminous  and  abstract  treatises  on  the  non- 
Christian  faiths,  these  lectures  follow  the  method  of 
travel.  It  is  as  if  you  were  taking  a  journey  through 
India,  China,  Japan,  and  Turkey,  and  learning  by  the 
way,  a  little  here  and  a  little  there,  until  you  come  to 
understand  the  strange  religious  practices  and  beliefs 
of  the  people  by  first-hand  knowledge.  You  will  see 
with  your  own  eyes  the  on-goings  of  Hinduism,  Bud¬ 
dhism  and  Mohammedanism,  and  will  learn  how  these 
cults  have  expressed  themselves  in  architecture,  in  wor¬ 
ship,  and  in  life.  Secretary  Patton  had  these  lectures 
in  mind  in  making  his  recent  trip  through  mission  fields. 
He  took  numerous  photographs  of  shrines  and  temples 
and  of  worshipers  in  out  of  the  way  places,  so  that 
much  of  the  material  is  fresh  and  original. 


Amrriratt  loarii  Publtraitmts 

iUiaaiottarg  l^rralii 

Published  monthly.  Contains  information  from  all  our  missions. 
75  cents  per  year.  In  clubs  of  ten  or  more,  50  cents  each.  This 
organ  of  the  Board  was  never  more  prized  by  its  readers  than  now, 
and  it  is  essential  for  those  who  would  keep  informed  in  regard  to 
the  work  of  our  Foreign  Missions  and  the  great  religious  movements 
in  non-Christian  lands. 


Enuring*  S>rrira 

A  quarterly  issued  by  the  Home  Department  of  the  Board,  in 
which  we  present  some  of  our  most  important  articles.  Subscription, 
10  cents  a  year. 


Nrvua  HuUrttn 

Issued  by  the  Home  Department  from  time  to  time,  and  invalu¬ 
able  as  a  brief,  newsy  .synopsis  of  the  leading  current  events  in  the 
missionary  world.  Furnished  free  upon  payment  of  postage. 


“Qlljr  0tnrg  of  tl|r  Amrrirmt  $5nariT 

By  William  E.  Strong 

The  new  history  of  the  Board,  completing  the  full  century,  just 
printed,  should  go  into  every  pastor’s  library  and  every  Young 
People’s  Society.  Over  five  hundred  pages,  with  sixteen  new  maps, 
forty  portraits,  etc.  $1.75  net,  postage  18  cents.  Special  Exposi¬ 
tion  edition,  paper  covers  and  without  maps,  50  cents,  postage  12 
cents. 

Literature  and  leaflets  of  the  American  Board  may  he  had  by  addressing: 
John  G.  Hosmer,  Congregational  House,  14  Beacon  Street,  Boston, 
Mass. 

Or  at  the  District  offices: 

Rev.  Edward  Jmncoln  Smith,  D.  D.,  4th  Avenue  and  22nd  Street, 
New  York  City. 

Rev.  A.  N.  Hitchcock,  D.  D.,  10  So.  La  Salle  Street,  Chicago,  Ill. 

Rev.  H.  Melville  Tenney,  D.  D.,  Mechanics  Bank  Bldg.,  San 
Francisco,  Cal. 


